Israel denies Gaza arms had depleted uranium

JERUSALEM — Israel on Tuesday denied it used depleted uranium munitions in Gaza, accusing the Arab nations that made the allegations of reporting "propaganda."

On Monday, Arab nations asked the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to investigate reports that uranium traces were found in victims of Israeli shelling during the three-week campaign against Hamas rebels in the Gaza Strip.

"This is a particularly poor propaganda spin," Yigal Palmor, spokesman for the Israeli Foreign Ministry, said Tuesday. "These accusations have been raised in the past many times and have been proven groundless each time by independent investigators."

Similar allegations were raised after the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Investigations found no proof depleted uranium munitions were used.

In a letter to the IAEA on behalf of Arab ambassadors accredited in Austria, Prince Mansour Al-Saoud, the Saudi Ambassador, had expressed "our deep concern regarding the information ... that traces of depleted uranium have been found in Palestinian victims."

Depleted uranium hardens shells and bombs and increases their penetrating power. The United States and NATO have used such rounds in Bosnia and Iraq. According to the World Health Organization, the weapons are lightly radioactive.

Meanwhile, Arab leaders trying to come up with a plan to rebuild Gaza ended their meeting Tuesday in discord, unable to agree on whether to back Egyptian peace efforts or even set up a joint reconstruction fund for the devastated Palestinian territory.

Saudi Arabia was the only Arab country to commit at the opening of the gathering to a $1 billion contribution for rebuilding efforts.

ALSO: The Israeli military says it has withdrawn all of its soldiers from the Gaza Strip. The military says the pullout was completed before dawn today.